Foldable stowable roof tops are commonly used in sport-utility vehicles for recreational purposes. The foldable roof is typically moved between a stowed position, and a deployed position. When in the deployed position, the foldable roof protects the occupants of the vehicle from various weather conditions. The foldable roof also includes various sections which are made of a clear material to essentially function as a window, allowing the occupant of the vehicle to see outside of the vehicle. It is also sometimes desirable to open these clear, foldable, window sections when weather conditions are favorable, but the occupant(s) of the vehicle do not desire to change the foldable roof to the stowed position.
Because these window sections are also foldable, typical window crank devices or electric motors used for opening and closing a window made of glass (which is rigid and not foldable) are not suitable for use with a foldable roof. Therefore, other methods of opening the foldable window have been developed. One of these methods is the use of a zipper, which is typically one continuous zipper that surrounds all sides of the window but one. The one side of the window which is not surrounded by the zipper is the foldable side, allowing the window to be folded from a closed position to an open position. Additionally, zippers may also be used to assemble and disassemble various parts of the roof when roof is being changed between a stowed position and deployed position.
One of the drawbacks to this type of design is that the foldable, stowable roof or the foldable window are not always in proper alignment for the zipper to functions properly. Most zippers are designed for attaching two portions of material along a substantially straight section of each portion of the material, with ideally the two portions of material being approximately twenty degrees apart. Typical zippers consist of a slider portion and two sections of zipper tape, with one section of zipper tape attached to one section of the foldable, stowable roof, and the other section of zipper tape attached to the foldable window or another section of the foldable, stowable roof.
When these types of zippers are used with a foldable window or for connecting two different sections of a foldable, stowable roof, the zipper is often difficult to use. More specifically, if a portion of the foldable, stowable roof or foldable window is folded, crinkled, or has some sort of crease, it is sometimes difficult to provide proper alignment for both sides of the zipper tape prior to entering the slider portion to allow the two sides of the zipper tape to interlock together properly. Various portions of the foldable, stowable roof or the foldable window may be positioned by the operator of the vehicle such that both sides of the zipper tape are in proper alignment. However, this is considered undesirable increased effort in using the zipper. Additionally, some of the material of the foldable, stowable roof may become unintentionally engaged with the slider, making the slider difficult to move and use properly.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a zipper which provides proper alignment between two sides of a zipper tape when connecting a foldable roof and a foldable window having various curved areas